The runner-up also reveals the other votes he thought might go his way.
Was Sam surprised by the landslide tally?
What votes surprised him the most?
Sam Phalen on ‘Survivor 47’.Credit:CBS
And what happened at final Tribal that we did not see?
Intel and insight to follow.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I’m sure you were doing jury math in your head.
Sam Phalen on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
What did you think your chances were walking into that final Tribal Council?
I felt likeKylewas going to be somebody that I would have his vote.
I anticipated havingSierra’s vote and I thought I was going to getGabeas well.
Sam Phalen, Rachel LaMont, and Andy Rueda on ‘Survivor 47’.CBS
And then as the Tribal Council unfolded, I started to feel likeAndywas more of an option for me.
So I was trying to do the math, but expected it to be very tight.
From a viewer’s perspective, Sierra might be the most surprising one.
Sam Phalen and Genevieve Mushaluk on ‘Survivor 47’.CBS
Yeah, no, totally.
So I did expect to have her vote.
So you did get the sense during final Tribal that maybe you were changing some minds out there?
Sam Phalen on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
And I’m like, “Wait, they’re starting to really see the differences.
Now’s my chance to go.”
It was hard to keep track of time.
Sam Phalen on ‘Survivor 47’.CBS
What happened during that final Tribal that did not make it to air?
It was something that I had pitched toGenevieve.
We had kind of assessed whether Teeny or Andy was our best option to bring in on this plan.
Tiyana Hallums, Teeny Chirichillo, and Sam Phalen on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
Me and the jury had a little bit of good back and forth and some debates about it.
And so that was a moment that I think I would’ve liked to have been shown.
Tell me what that was like for you?
It’s very hard, especially when you don’t get explanations before you’re having this After-Show.
Not the easiest thing to do in the moment.
But also, I adore Rachel.
And so you want to have your winner be celebrated.
You want to understand that you are so pumped and happy and amped for them.
Nobody gets to playSurvivor, let alone play the entire game.
And so that in itself was a big blessing.
Those conversations can happen afterwards.
They can happen off air.
We can hash it out and figure out why this or why that.
They don’t talk anymore.
Are you good now with Sierra?
I mean, we’re good.
Yeah, I would say we’re good.
I always was just like, “I’ll be able to figure it out if I have to.
I’ll be able to figure it out in the moment.”
I don’t know why I believed that.
I don’t know why I just had this level of confidence in doing something.
Frankly, I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was.
And everybody else is anxious and excited, eager to go and make the fire at Gata.
Sierra on day one wanted to go make the fire.
Andy, Rachel, people were volunteering to go and give this thing a try.
So for me, I was saying, “Hey, you got it.
I’l keep my lack of ability sort of a mystery.”
So I wanted to keep it ambiguous, but not sure why I didn’t do it.
I just kind of thought I’d be able to figure it out.
Should have practiced more.
Well, I guess youdidfigure it out.
The results don’t always justify the means here.
I would not recommend futureSurvivorplayers going out there without really practicing.
It’s the most important thing you could practice.
I had heard what Jeff was saying about “Teeny’s got an inferno going on!”
I’m trying to really nurse it to action.
I think I had my fire-making spot in the right spot.
How did you all determine who sat where?
I let Teeny pick.
Yeah, it was okay.
And I’m not somebody who is Teeny, I’m not Teenys identity.
I don’t know what it’s like to be Teeny’s identity.
But I don’t take any of it personally.
It wasn’t something you were doing, it was stuff they were going through.
Which is incredibly vulnerable.
What else happened this season that didn’t make it to TV that you wish he had seen?
Can’t get enough.
